


Heat of the Moment

by inyouratmosphere



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Height difference, Slow Burn, cute jim hopper, grumpy jim hopper, hopper being awkward but cute
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:16:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22989952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inyouratmosphere/pseuds/inyouratmosphere
Summary: When I first met Hawkins’ Chief of Police, it was an encounter I’d rather have forgotten. They say first impressions count, but over time, Jim Hopper is determined to change that first impression.
Relationships: Jim "Chief" Hopper & Reader, Jim "Chief" Hopper & You, Jim "Chief" Hopper/Reader, Jim "Chief" Hopper/You
Comments: 7
Kudos: 32





	1. Brief Encounters

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! Here is the first part of a multi-series fic I have been working on for almost a year now. It isn't finished by a long shot and didn't have a title up until me having to think of one so I could post the first chapter. Name of the fic is based on the song by Asia - give it a listen, it's very good. I named the female Allie, because it's better than Y/N all the time, so I personally think. Comments are welcome and appreciated, as is kudos if you feel as though you'd like to give it some, but please be kind - I am only human and one person and do not claim to be perfect, nor do I think my work is. I feel I should mention I am British and the fic is based in America, so if you read certain words that seem unusual, that's why (though I am trying to make sure it all flows). If you don't like it, that's fine, but please be respectful.

I looked at the clock, sighing in exasperation. _Surely_ at least an hour had to have passed since the last time I’d checked my watch? No, I realised with gloom, it had only been three minutes. It was just one of those days. I didn’t usually mind your job at Bradley’s, but it had been a really slow day today. I'd been working my usual 9-5 shift, but because of the lack of customers, I’d been able to do everything that had needed doing by 11am. Consequently, I’d spent the rest of the shift up until now feeling somewhat like a zombie. Apart from the few customers that had been in, I’d been wandering around the store aimlessly, trying to find things to do to keep myself busy. I felt a bit of a fraud, really - I was getting paid, but I didn’t feel as though I was doing enough to justify the couple of dollars an hour I was earning. It was currently 2:37pm, only two hours and twenty three minutes to go. _Only._

I sighed, rolling my eyes to myself, and walked to find another aisle to make sure all of the products on sale were displayed neatly. I was pulling a few sticks of deodorant to the front of part of one of the shelves when the bell just above the door sounded, signalling someone’s arrival into the store. Whoever it was hadn’t gone straight over to the register, I would’ve seen from where I was standing if they had, so I took my time as I headed back in that direction, giving whoever it was a chance to browse in peace. I liked to be helpful, but I knew there could be a fine line between being helpful and being pushy. I'm not the kind of person who pounced on a customer the second they walked in - I'd had that happen to me several times and it always pissed me off and was more of a hindrance than help. Instead, I waited until they asked for assistance, or if I saw them looking somewhat unsure as they walked around, I would then politely ask if I could be of any help.

It was only my fifth shift since landing the job, and I was already having to work a lone shift until closing time. It wasn’t supposed to be a lone shift, but I'd quickly realised this was the case when I clocked in and Adam, the guy who had been on shift before me, practically ran out the doors after clocking out. I didn't think I'd seen him look so relieved to be out of there and as I had looked around the store, quickly realised someone hadn’t picked their shift up. Great. Like most things in life, new skills required practice, so naturally I was still finding my feet within the job. Not long after my shift had started, there was a queue of about five people form, the early evening rush of workers finishing and coming in to purchase things for dinner just subsiding. I hated when queues got long and it was something I was always hyper aware of - I didn't like to keep customers waiting. Tonight was worse because I was on my own _and_ I’d been working there just short of a week. I didn’t have time to stand around and be pissed about this, I had work to do and customers to help. Thankfully, the customers waiting in line were all incredibly patient. Well, all except one. Always one exception to the rule…

‘Can we hurry this up a little, lady?’ a man’s voice interrupted the conversation I was having with Roger. Roger was an older gentleman who came in daily, so I'd quickly observed, and was always friendly and willing to talk. Consequently, I’d learned a lot about him in the short space of time I'd been working at Bradley’s, and looked forward to seeing him if he visited when I was on shift. I shot Roger an apologetic look for our conversation being halted (it wasn’t like I’d been talking ages, just a quick chat whilst I served him), and realised a flash of anger was travelling through me.  
‘I’m sorry, Sir, i’m the only member of staff on the premises and I’m going as fast as I ca-  
‘Yeah, well, not fast enough,’ came the curtly muttered response, the man frowning. This pissed me off even more, but Roger spoke up, coming to my defence as I took a slow, deep breath. This was my first encounter with a rude customer, and I was trying not to react and to remain professional.  
‘Chief, go easy on her. It’s not easy doin’ it alone, ’specially when she ain’t been here very long.’ his voice was gentle, but I had picked up on the warning tone it carried. I felt a rush of affection for Roger for standing up for me when I was still new to the job and to Hawkins. The word _Chief_ flashed through my mind as I risked a glance at the _Chief_ in question. He was a tall, broad man, and was sporting stubble and a mustache Tom Selleck would be proud of. I looked down slightly, registering the khaki uniform he was wearing. I saw the badge on the left arm of his shirt, then the one on his chest, and all at once realised this is Hawkin’s Chief of Police. I’d seen cops around since I got here, sure, but not the Chief. Well. He seemed downright delightful.  
‘Look. I’m late for a really special date, so I would appreciate it if you could hurry the hell-  
‘Well, sir.’ I began. I had held back long enough, but couldn’t take any more. No way was Magnum PI going to continue his ramble of talking to me like I was a piece of crap on his shoe. ‘It’s not my fault that I’m the only one who could be bothered to show up for work this afternoon. I’m new to this, so I don’t have much experience yet. However, people like you being rude to me instead of letting me get on with my job so you get served quicker makes everyone’s wait longer, thus making you later. I’m going as fast as I can, and I’m sure as hell not going to serve you quicker than anyone else. You’ll just have to wait. Sorry about that, _Chief_ .’ I added pointedly, my cheeks flaming. I was shocked at my outburst, feeling myself shake, and prayed he wasn't about to arrest me for some kind of verbal violation against a law enforcement officer, or something similar. I wouldn’t put it past him if he did. He was looking at me, his eyes wide, mouth parted slightly in what I thought was shock, his eyebrows raised. I would’ve found it comical if I wasn't so mad. If I hadn’t been so annoyed with his attitude toward me, (weren’t police supposed to be friendly?) I'd have felt incredibly awkward when it did eventually get to his turn and were scanning his groceries: four boxes of eggos and some syrup. I couldn’t tell how he felt about the interaction, as the quick glance I took at him showed me his face was impassive. I did notice that he was looking anywhere but directly at me until I finished ringing the items up. He paid, glancing at me and muttering ‘uh, thank you’, the irony of him _now_ being polite to me not lost on me. When he walked out, I noticed he did so with his head bent. I didn’t know whether this was because he felt shameful, or just simply how he walked. I figured he didn’t give a damn - probably too wrapped up in his own world to notice, or care - yet I still felt shaken by the run-in. I am quite a quiet person, kind of the ‘speak when spoken to’ type - I don't make grandiose entrances anywhere I go, and I'm definitely not the life and soul of the party. I talk more when I get to know people and became more comfortable, naturally, but a lot of the time I keep myself to myself, and am happy doing so. The Chief’s attitude had stung - I am not naturally a confrontational person, but I stand up for what I believe in, and I'm working on that also including standing up for myself. Otherwise, people would quickly think I was some kind of doormat they could walk all over. I've had a few too many people previously in my life treat me like that, and enough was enough. After the last few customers of the evening had been served, I consulted the list of things I needed to do in order to safely lock up - I don't carry the responsibility lightly, and wanted to be methodical to ensure I did everything correctly. I carried out my final duties and headed home, glad to be able to try and put the last hour of my shift out of my mind.


	2. Chapter Two

After my run-in with Chief Jerk, I was working yet another lone shift. Today though, I was thankfully only working from 8am til 1pm, so I didn’t think it would drag too much. The busy morning period had been at around 8:30, with commuters coming in to get things for their lunch and so on, and now it had steadied down again. I had been restocking one of the shelves behind the cash registers when a voice made me jump.  
‘Uh, hey,’ the voice said. I turned around, and it was none other than the chief standing before me. Aliens could land outside and I wouldn’t have been as surprised as I was at that moment. He looked slightly abashed, his hair a little rumpled, looking like he had spent a great deal of time running his hands through it. Whilst I was looking at him, the overhead light reflected on another badge I hadn’t noticed the first time I'd seen him. My eyes were drawn to it: _Hopper_ , it said. _Chief Hopper. Huh._ I’d gotten used to Chief Jerk.  
‘Hi,’ I replied, a little tentatively; it came out sounding more like a question than a greeting. There was a pause, and to stop it from growing too awkward, I spoke again. ‘Can I help you with anything?’ He looked back up at me, and I noticed, a little too quickly, how blue his eyes were. We held each other’s gaze for several seconds before I broke it, feeling heat rise up in my cheeks. _Jesus, Allie. Get it together,_ I scolded yourself.  
‘Actually,’ Hopper said, snapping me out of my thoughts, ‘I didn’t come here to shop’.  
‘Oh?’ was all I could reply, confused.  
‘I came here to apologise.’ Okay, _now_ I couldn’t be more surprised by anything, I was sure. I was also pretty sure that the incredulousness was showing on my face - I’d been under the impression that he hadn’t noticed his behaviour, let alone cared, about the way he had spoken to me.  
‘The other day,’ he began, running a hand through his hair (confirming my earlier thoughts about why his hair had looked ruffled), ‘when I came in, I was an asshole to you.’ _This guy is full of surprises,_ I thought to myself, as his eyes scanned my face. I tried not to think about how shy I suddenly felt. A lot of people have trouble accepting when they’re in the wrong, let alone holding accountability for their actions and then apologising. Wow.  
‘Glad you noticed,’ I said quietly, the bitterness not landing as I’d hoped it would, and he chuckled softly as he lowered his head. He looked back up into my eyes after a couple of seconds, and I noticed the way my pulse quickened as he did so. _Breathe, Allie._ I'm not exactly used to male attention, so I told myself this was the reason for why I was feeling like I was.  
‘Oh believe me, I noticed.’ I saw that he was looking sheepish. _Good,_ I thought. I got the impression that this man was not used to doing things like this - he seemed unsure of how to act, specifically, what to actually _say_. ‘I came here to apologise. I was totally out of order. I really am sorry.’  
I allowed myself to properly look at him for a few moments, studying his face. He did seem genuinely remorseful, which did make me feel somewhat better about the situation. ‘Well,’ I sighed, a subconscious smile tugging at the sides of my mouth before I could stop. ‘Apology accepted, I guess.’  
‘You guess?’ he asked, frowning slightly. I wondered for a second whether he was going to be a jerk about it, but then I caught the way his eyes had a twinkle to them that I didn’t think had been there moments earlier.  
‘Well, yeah. I hardly want a grudge with the Chief of Police now, do I?’ I replied, raising an eyebrow quizzically at him. He shook his head and smiled, looking far more relaxed than he had a few minutes ago. He had a beautiful smile, I noticed.  
‘Please. Call me Jim,’ he said, extending his hand.  
‘Allie,’ I smiled, as our hands came together in a handshake. His hand engulfed mine - I almost laughed out loud at how much bigger his hand was in comparison to mine. His handshake was gentle but carried the air of authoritative firmness, ( _he probably extends this formality a lot at work_ ) and I felt the calluses on his skin and the warmth coming from his hand.  
‘Nice to properly meet you, Allie. Can this be a do-over?’  
‘A do-over?’ I repeated, smiling again.  
‘Yeah. It wasn’t exactly a good first impression I gave you. I swear, next time something or someone pisses me off, I will try my best not to take it out on you. I didn’t mean anything I said. It was just…’  
‘A bad day?’ I offered, and he nodded, sighing.  
‘Yeah. seem to have had a few of those lately,’ he mumbled, seemingly more to himself than to me. ‘It’s not an excuse for me to be a jerk, I know, but –’  
‘It’s fine, Jim. Don’t worry about it.’  
‘Thank you,’ he smiled, looking and sounding grateful. It was then that I noticed a few people making their way toward where I was standing at the register, bringing me back to reality – I had momentarily forgotten where I was.  
‘Well, I've gotta get back to work. Don’t want a queue forming – wouldn't wanna piss someone off who may be in a hurry,’ I teased, and notice he scrunched his nose, but smiling as he did so.  
‘Alright,’ he laughed, raising his hands up in a mock sign of defeat, ‘I deserved that one.’ I laughed and as I did, saw him watching me, smiling. ‘I’ll see you around, Allie,’ he said, turning to go. ‘I really am sorry.’  
‘No worries, Chief,’ I grinned wrly. He returned a broad smile to me, raising his hand in a wave as he started walking towards the door. I was still smiling when I’d finished serving the customers. The day had just got a little bit brighter.


	3. Chapter Three

‘Hey, Allie,’ a voice called out from behind me, making me jump initially until my brain registered the now-familiar voice of Jim.  
‘Hangin’ in there?’ he asked, smiling down at me. Another thing I’d quickly learned about Jim was how much taller he was than me. It had been slightly intimidating at first – he was at least a foot taller and seemed to tower over me, but I was used to it by now. It was quite comical at times, the height difference. Once, for example, I'd accidentally knocked a box of laundry powder further back on the top shelf when I’d intended to get it down to restock. Some recent commercial had made it popular, and consequently it had been a best-seller for the past few weeks; I felt as if I was constantly having to order more. Naturally, anyone who couldn’t reach something would either ask for assistance or get a step stool in order to retrieve it. However, I thought both of those to be last resorts (at least, when there were no customers around to see), and proceeded to try standing on my tiptoes to get it. When this hadn’t worked, I had tried plan b: the jump-and-grab method. I’d been on my third or fourth attempt at this when a voice had made me jump, causing me to yelp out a little.  
‘Is that the preferred method of reaching items now?’  
I’d quickly stopped, slightly out of breath from my efforts, then began to laugh. If it had been anyone else who had caught me, I'd have wanted the ground to swallow me up. Somehow, because it was Jim Hopper, the irony had caused me to laugh instead.  
‘Busted,’ I had chuckled, shaking my head.  
‘Y’know, there’s probably some health and safety at work law you’re breaching there,’ he'd challenged, raising his eyebrows a little.  
‘Sorry Officer,’ I'd teased, ‘are you going to arrest me? Only, we’re short-staffed again this week, so I’d have to let the boss know first.’ He laughed, really laughed, and I had felt something shift somewhere in my chest. I liked the sound of his laughter, and realised then and there that I would do anything to make him laugh. He had then reached above me, with irritating ease, and grabbed the box I'd been attempting to reach.  
‘Thanks,’ I had smiled gratefully, placing it on the correct part of the shelf. ‘Short people problems.’  
‘Glad to be of help – tall person’s solution!’ he replied, making me grin. I seemed to do that a lot around him, I had noticed.  
And so it had begun. The last month or so, Jim had become a regular customer – I saw him at least three or four days a week. Sometimes he’d only buy one or two things, but if I wasn’t particularly busy, I'd find myself talking to him for a while. It was funny: the minutes I spent talking to him seemed to go by quicker than the rest of my shift did. He couldn’t always stay for long – he had started to come in when he was on duty and sometimes got alerts through his radio. He’d roll his eyes, make some remark along the lines of _gotta go save the world_ or something similar that always made me laugh, then have to go. At some point along the way, I had realised I’d started to really miss him when he had to go. I tried to quash that feeling — it seemed stupid, really — he probably didn’t give me a second thought when he wasn’t in the store. Whereas I seemed to be spending a bit _too_ much time thinking about him lately. This didn’t come without guilt — I remembered the first time I met him, he mentioned the ‘very special date’ he was late for. Whoever they were, they were lucky. I couldn’t think about that for too long because it made my stomach feel weird. I told myself to get a grip — I couldn’t be feeling like this over a guy who was dating someone. I would _not_ be _that_ person. It would just make things weird and eventually uncomfortable, and I didn’t want to put Jim, or myself, through that. I liked the friendship that had formed between the two of us, as unlikely as it had initially seemed, and I enjoyed his company. I didn’t want to lose that: I hoped these silly feelings would go away of their own accord, and I could keep them in check anyway. I hoped.

Blinking myself back into the present moment, I realised a few seconds too late that Jim had said something to me and I'd missed it, too preoccupied with thinking about him. _Oh, the irony._  
‘Sorry?’ I said, feeling instantly guilty for not paying close attention. It annoyed me when others did it to me, and here I was doing it to him.  
‘Busy day, huh?’ He said with a smile. Despite the smile, though, I now sensed he wasn’t his usual self. He didn’t seem sad, exactly, just… different.  
‘Something like that,’ I said. ‘I’m sorry, Jim. What did you say?’  
‘Nothing of importance,’ he replied, a small smile on his face.  
‘You sure?’  
‘Yeah.’ He seemed suddenly distracted himself and I instantly began to worry, not quite knowing why.  
‘Are you okay?’  
‘Uh, yeah,’ he smiled, but it didn’t even reach the corners of his mouth. I didn’t want to push the issue and make him feel uncomfortable — there’s nothing worse than when someone is trying to get you to talk about something you don’t really want to talk about. However, I couldn’t help but worry that it was something I had said or done. A few seconds passed in silence, and it felt the complete opposite of the usual comfort and ease I felt being around him. _No, no, no_ I thought, wanting to turn the clock back a few minutes to when he’d walked in and said hey. It was starting to feel wrong, _off_ , and I didn’t like it at all, but I didn’t know what I could do to stop it. A few more seconds went by, and Jim’s radio suddenly went off. _Chief, do you copy?_  
‘Gotta go’ Jim said, pointing to the radio then to the door. I nodded.  
‘Of course, duty calls.’ Normally, this kind of response would earn me at least a chuckle, but he barely seemed to hear me. He then turned to leave, and I called out a ‘bye’, but the word seemed to disappear in the air before it reached him. He didn’t even reply — he seemed to practically run out of the store to the cruiser. I didn’t know whether it was because of the work call, or him wanting to get away from me quickly, that saw his hurried exit. I couldn’t help but think of the times in previous trips to the store where he’d received a call and he’d seemed in no great rush to leave, which made me wonder if it was because of the former option. I realised there was a lump forming in my throat, and as I blinked, tears began to well up in my eyes. I couldn’t explain why I felt so hurt, but I quickly managed to blink the tears away, not wanting to spend the rest of my shift feeling like shit because of him. _Again_ I couldn’t help but think, sadly. 

I managed to get through the rest of my shift in a sort of numb haze, and if any customers picked up on it, they were polite enough not to pass comment about it. I don't live far from the store, but I didn’t even remember the walk home, let alone realising that tears had begun to fall down my face as I’d started to cry. It was pathetic, really, feeling like this over a guy I barely knew. Yes, we'd spent more time together over the last few weeks, but it had only been whilst I had been at work. I didn't know much about his personal life, yet here I was acting like a teenager whose crush had rejected them. I told myself I was being ridiculous, but I couldn’t help feeling hurt. I thought he’d enjoyed talking to me — what was the point in wasting his time coming into the store and talking to me if he didn’t? Today, though, he’d acted as though he couldn’t get away from me fast enough. I didn’t understand what had gone so wrong in the couple of minutes from him coming in and saying hey, like usual, to his swift departure. I still felt bad about missing whatever it was he had said, but I had apologised and had asked him to repeat it. I had wondered if this was the reason. Putting my head in my hands, I sighed, the tears still falling. I could feel the start of a headache coming on, which I knew would turn nasty pretty quickly if I didn’t do something about it. I didn’t feel hungry, so instead got a glass of water and swallowed an Advil, hoping for relief soon. I poured another glass of water when I finished the first, quickly downing that, too. When I'd washed the glass, the emotions of the day seemed to hit me all at once, leaving me feeling exhausted and slightly unsteady on my feet. I trudged up the stairs, my legs feeling more lead-like with each step. I sighed as I got into my room and into bed, pulling the covers tightly around me, willing sleep to come quickly. 


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, I hope you’re all doing as well as possible given the circumstances the world is currently facing. I know it’s a dark and difficult time for a lot, so I hope that this makes even one person smile or is able to take their mind off things even for a little while. Take care and stay safe!

Almost six weeks had passed since the last time I’d seen Jim, on the day it all went weird. Not that I had been counting. Either he was incredibly skilled at being able to come into the store when I wasn't working, or he’d found another store to shop at. It still hurt a bit when the memory passed through my mind, as it still did, more than was probably considered “normal”. Not seeing him for so long after seeing him for most days throughout each week felt so strange — I'd got used to the routine so quickly — but I had to accept it. What else could I do? I’d resigned myself to the fact I probably wouldn’t see Jim as often any more. I wasn’t naïve enough to think I’d _never_ see him again: Hawkins wasn’t that big of a town, and he was Chief of Police, after all. We’d probably pass each other every once in a while. I felt a sinking inside at the thought of passing and not acknowledging each other, and it saddened me to think of how quickly people can go from friends to strangers. I quickly found something to try and distract myself, otherwise I would end up feeling like shit for the rest of the day. Today was a day off, one I needed to spend running errands as well as general chores at home, so I showered, had breakfast and headed out, hoping that the stores wouldn’t be too busy so I could get everything done and head home.

* 

It was just after midday and I was feeling happy because I’d got almost everything accomplished I’d initially set out to do. I was saving the best til last, as I headed for Family Video. I was headed there to pick up my rental copy of the latest VHS release, Footloose. People had gone crazy when it hit theatres back in February, and it seemed to have taken the world by storm. I was supposed to go and see it with a friend in the theatre, but she’d got sick so I didn’t go. It felt like a lifetime had passed, but it had been 7 months and now I was finally going to watch it. I’d called ahead to ask when they’d be getting it in, and had been excited when a store attendant had told me over the phone I could leave my name and they would reserve a copy for me to pick up. It would be the perfect mood-boost, I was sure, and had planned to spend the evening curled up in a blanket with snacks whilst I watched Kevin Bacon dance across my screen. I was walking across the road to the store when I spotted something black on the road ahead. As I got closer, I realised it was a wallet someone had dropped. As I picked it up, I scanned the road and surrounding areas, but apart from a couple of people getting into their cars, there was no one outside. I didn’t think twice, I had to hand it in. It could’ve come from anyone visiting any of the stores in the nearby complex, so I knew, ultimately, the best place to hand it in. I didn’t want to hold onto it for too long: I knew my intentions were honest and true, but I still felt slightly uncomfortable with someone else’s possession on my person. Sighing, I turned away from the video store, making my way to the station. 

I felt both nervous and excited at the thought of possibly seeing Jim. I doubted there would be any kind of interaction: he hadn’t spoken to me in over a month, plus I thought he probably dealt with issues more pressing than a wallet being handed in. He might not even be _at_ the station, I told myself, he could be out on a call. He might not even be at work, it could be a day off. I rounded the corner, approaching the station. As I neared the doors, I saw a couple of patrol cars parked, as well as the bigger cruiser, a Chevy Blazer, the word CHIEF printed on the side. _Shit_ , I said quietly to myself. I’d half been expecting him not to be there, and now I didn’t know how to feel. I shook my head slightly – I wasn't here for Jim, I was here to hand the wallet in. I took a deep breath then I walked through the door, seeing that the reception area was almost directly to my left. As I approached, I noticed an older lady with short, dark hair, peering at me from inside glasses that covered from above her eyebrows down to the bridge of her nose.  
‘Can I help you?’ she smiled at me kindly.  
‘Hi. I was just about to head into Family Video, when I found this on the road as I was making my way over.’ I took the wallet out of my pocket, handing it over, and I didn’t miss the look of shock that crossed over her face.  
‘Oh, well, thank you,’ she seemed to chuckle slightly as she spoke. ‘I can’t believe you have come to hand it in.’  
‘I wouldn’t dream of doing anything else,’ I said, honestly. ‘I haven’t opened it, but it may have some ID in it, to help you get it back to the owner.’  
‘I’ll take a look at that, Flo,’ another voice said, and I spun around so quickly I felt as if I was going to fall over.  
‘You sure, Jim? I don’t mind looking for you, you probably have a lot to do today anyway,’ the lady — Flo — says.  
‘’M happy to do it. You haven’t had lunch yet — go now and I’ll handle this.’  
‘Okay’ she said, sounding somewhat surprised. She raised her eyebrows at me, smiling. ‘I’ll be back in a half hour.’ Jim nodded, smiling, then he turned to look at me, an unreadable expression on his face. I was suddenly aware of eyes on me — not Jim’s — but others. I glanced quickly and saw two officers looking at me, both men wearing variations of a smirk. I hadn’t noticed them until now and I felt my cheeks heat, embarrassed.  
‘If you’ll follow me, Allie,’ he said, his voice softening from his professional demeanour as he said my name. Hearing him address me felt weirdly intimate after not speaking to him for so long. He leaned down, murmuring so only I could hear: ‘we’ll go into my office, otherwise dumb and dumber over there will think they’re getting a free show.’  
‘Uh, okay,’ I nodded, hoping it wasn't showing on my face how stupidly happy I was to see him and be talking to him, after what felt like an eternity. He turned and I followed him, keeping my eyes on the ground in front of me to avoid looking at his colleagues. I knew they were only pretending to work, whilst actually being completely focused on me, like hawks. He opened the door, stepped back, and gestured for me to enter first. He didn't quite move clear of the doorway, so part of my back brushed against him as I moved into the room. A shiver rippled through me at the sudden, unexpected contact. Again, I hoped he didn’t notice this as I got into his office, hearing the door shut behind me as he followed you in. 

‘Take a seat,’ he gestured, as he sat down at his side of the desk. The room isn’t that big, and the close proximity in which we were both currently occupying the same space felt somewhat intimate.  
‘So, uh, thank you for this,’ he put the wallet down on the desk.  
‘You don’t have to thank me. It was the right thing to do.’  
‘Still, most people would’ve pocketed it without hesitation.’  
‘I’m not most people,’ I replied, looking at him. He muttered something as he ran a hand over his mouth, but I didn’t hear what it was. We're both quiet for a moment, before I spoke again. ‘Well, that was all I came here for, so thanks for your time,’ I say, standing up. How that came out of my mouth sounding so nonchalant, I don't know — I felt like my nerves, or emotions, were about to get the better of me, and I wanted to get the hell out of there as quickly as possible to avoid any potential embarrassment. I turned away and had taken three steps away from Jim, towards the door, when his voice made me stop.  
‘Allie.’  
I turned around, and again I couldn’t read the expression on his face.  
‘Hold on a minute.’  
I felt as though I'd been holding my breath — maybe I had and I hadn’t realised it. Jim ran a hand through his hair, sighing, before looking back up into my eyes.  
‘I keep getting it wrong.’  
‘What?’ I ask, confused.  
‘This,’ he gestured from himself, to me, then back to himself again. ‘I keep screwing it up.’  
Whatever I’d expected him to say, that hadn’t been it. Something shifted somewhere inside my chest. _For the love of god, Hop, please elaborate_ I prayed silently.  
‘What do you mean?’ Is all I could manage to say in response.  
‘I keep being an asshole. I keep getting it wrong. I distanced myself because last of time, I thought it would be easier that way. I guess it turns out that was probably the dumbest thing I could’ve done.’ He paused, his eyes scanning my face, although what for I wasn't sure. Moments of silence passed, but I suddenly found yourself speaking.  
‘I don’t know what I did.’ It comes out barely audible, but I know he hears, because a pained expression flashes across his face.  
‘What?’  
‘That day at the store. The last time we spoke. One minute everything was fine, and then the next it wasn’t. You went all weird on me and I didn’t know what I’d done. I still don’t know what I did. I spent weeks trying to work it out…’ I trailed off, my throat tightening and my eyes prickling. I inwardly cursed myself — my little speech had carried far more emotion in it than I had intended it to.  
‘Oh, Allie,’ Jim’s voice was soft and sounded sad, matching the expression on his face. He puts his head down, and sighs. ‘You didn’t do anything wrong.’  
‘I must’ve done,’ I said quietly. I realised I was teetering on the verge of tears, and I prayed I didn’t start crying in front of him.  
‘Allie, I don’t want you to think that. You didn’t do anything wrong. I promise. It was my fault again. I just—’  
A knock on the door made us both jump, halting our conversation.  
‘Not now!’ Jim called, the annoyance in his voice clear.  
‘Uh, chief? This is important. It’s about that lab you’ve been talkin’ about,’ came the response. I didn’t recognise the voice, but guessed it belonged to one of the two guys who had been watching us just a few minutes earlier. I watched as Jim closed his eyes and exhaled very slowly, anger visible on his face. His sudden grumpy face made me giggle slightly. As he heard me laugh, he opened his eyes to look at me, his face softening instantly. He stood up and walked around from his side of the desk, stopping as he got to where I was sat. I wished I knew what he was thinking, because there again was the unreadable expression. My heart was hammering so loudly I thought he may be able to hear it, especially in the small confinement I found myself in. He glanced at the door and I stood up, realising I was probably stopping him from going to see what his colleague wanted. _You know, letting him go and do his job that he is being paid for, Allie. You didn’t come here for him!_ my internal monologue berated me again, and I almost rolled my eyes.  
‘I’ll let you get back to work, Jim. I’m sorry I’ve taken up this much of your time when you’re obviously really busy.’ I didn’t want to go — I hadn’t seen him in what felt like forever and I didn’t know when the next time would be that I'd get to see him. He took a step towards me and suddenly we were so close we were almost touching. Suddenly, Jim put his hand on my shoulder gently. It’s warm, and I feel as though I have a current running through me.   
‘I haven’t finished, Allie. I want to explain, you deserve an explanation. What are you doing tomorrow?’  
‘I’m working til 5.’  
‘Can I pick you up after you’ve finished? I should’ve done this weeks ago. I’m so sorry I’ve been an ass — again. I promise I’ll explain.’  
‘That sounds good,’ I nodded, trying not to show just how happy the thought of seeing him again (AND OUT OF WORK!) had made me feel. The knock sounded on the door once again, persistent and urgent.  
‘’M gonna kill that son of a bitch,’ he growled, throwing an angry look in the general direction of the door. ‘I’m the Chief of Police. I could cover it up.’ I laughed at the expression on his face as he said this, and immediately his face softened, his eyes looking deeply into mine. I realised his hand was still on my shoulder a split second before he moved it gently down my arm to my elbow. He must've felt the shiver that travelled through me as he did it, but he never passed comment.  
‘I’ll let you get back to work, Chief,’ I said. He walked to the door, but before he opened it, turned back to me.  
‘I’ll see you at 5 tomorrow.’  
‘Sure,’ I nodded, ‘see you soon.’ Jim opened the door and I saw it was one of the two guys from earlier, looking both anxious and a bit annoyed, probably at being kept waiting. I noticed his name badge read _Callahan_ , just as I heard Jim seethe ‘this better be good, Phil,’ in a tone so threatening I felt a bit intimidated myself. I moved past him, and Callahan practically ran through the office. I turned around briefly to glance back at the door, half expecting it to be closed, but Jim was still stood nearby. He smiled at me, eyes shining, and mouthed ‘see you soon.’ I smiled back at him and he winked, causing my stomach to do a weird flip-flop thing, before closing his office door behind him. I walked out of the police station feeling ten feet tall and lighter than air, convinced that even the smallest bit of breeze would send me up, up and away into the sky. As I was walking along, I remembered where I’d been headed as I had found the wallet. I headed back to Family Video to get my rental of Footloose, wondering how I was going to focus on it now knowing that I was seeing Jim again so soon.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Sorry I haven’t updated in a few months. With everything going on right now, it’s not been high up on my priority list. We’ve all been trying to navigate living in the midst of a huge global pandemic, and I’ve worked right through it. Now I have finished work for a few weeks, I should be able to write a few more chapters. For anyone who isn’t a new reader, I’ve changed it to a first-person POV, as I found it easier to write this way and felt it worked better - I have gone and amended previous chapters so it’s the same there, too. I hope everyone takes care and stays safe. Oh, and please, wear a mask, it does help save lives. Thanks!

Five o’clock couldn’t come quick enough. I was feeling both nervous and excited at the thought of spending time with Jim outside of work. The word ‘date’ had crept into my mind, but I quickly erased the thought — I hadn’t forgotten the “really special date” that he had been late for the first time I had met him. Of course, I didn’t know the full context, but I assumed he was on his way to a date of the romantic kind, and I was not about to be _that_ girl. Anyway, it was just for an explanation. I tried to stop overthinking the situation, trying to put it out of my mind until I finished my shift. 

*

The day seemed to pass both quickly and slowly — I didn’t know whether I wanted the time to speed up or to slow down, and had tried to avoid looking at the clock on the wall every 2 minutes. I had been looking for the millionth time when the phone rang — the shrill tone sharply broke me out of my reverie, making me jump.  
‘Hello, Bradley’s Big Buy, Allie speaking’, I said, sounding calmer than I currently felt.  
‘Allie, just the person.’ I would recognise that voice anywhere, however my initial excitement at hearing Jim’s voice quickly turned to dread, when a voice in my head said _he isn’t coming, he’s calling to cancel_.  
‘Hey, Jim. What’s up?’  
‘Uh, just calling to say I may be a little later picking you up. A call I investigated earlier ran over, so I’m just writing up some notes that I’ll need to file. I’ll be there at like 5:15. That okay? I didn’t want you thinkin’ I wouldn’t show. I know I’ve not exactly given you the best impression of me so far, but I’m working on changing that.’ Even over the phone, I couldn’t miss the sincerity in his voice.  
‘No problem. I’ll be outside for 5:15’.  
‘Great, I’ll see you soon.’  
‘Bye’.  
‘Bye’. I heard the line click as Jim hung up. 5:15 — half an hour from now. I did find one positive about the slight delay — it at least gave me time to freshen up a bit.

*

At 5pm I clocked out, grabbing my bag as I headed into the bathroom. The lights in there had been flickering on and off sporadically for a couple of weeks now, and it looked like they were doing it now. I hadn’t brought a change of clothes, but I reached into my bag and reapplied deodorant and sprayed some perfume, then combed my hair. I sighed — that would have to do. Anyway, it wasn’t like he hadn’t seen me at work before, and I reminded myself that this was an _explanation_ and nothing more. I began to put the things back into my bag when I heard a sort of thunking sound nearby — it sounded as if it was coming from inside the pipes near the sinks. I didn’t think much of it initially, but as I was putting the last of the things back into my bag, it seemed like the sound was becoming louder and louder, and it got to the point where whatever it was sounded like it was going to burst through the pipes. Usually, things like this didn’t bother me — it wasn’t as if I hadn’t heard noisy pipes before — but I’d never heard anything like this and it was beginning to freak me out a bit. As I placed my bag onto my shoulder, the lights flickered wildly for a couple of seconds, then went out altogether. I started to make my way to the door when the sounds in the pipe changed from a thunking sound to more of a croaking rattle. Suddenly, there was a loud clattering noise, which made me jump, and as I scrambled to reach the door handle, I felt my arm catch on something momentarily. Pain shot through my arm as I felt whatever it was rip my jacket, and also rip through skin. I flung the door open and was relieved to see the lights seemed to be working just fine throughout the main part of the store. I hurried out toward the exit, glad to be out in the fresh air. I stood for a few moments, getting my breath back, whilst trying to calm my heart rate down. ‘Hey, Allie, sorry I’m…’  
Hearing Jim’s voice so unexpectedly made me jump, and I cried out slightly as I did so, putting a hand to my mouth. I looked up at him, startled, and noticed that the smile on his face quickly faded to a look of concern. ‘Allie, what is it?’  
‘It’s… I…’ I trailed off, unsure of where to begin or even how to word it so I didn’t sound crazy. I tried to give a shaky laugh, but it came out sounding more like a sob. I shook my head, pressing my lips together firmly.  
‘Come on, let’s get you in the car,’ he said, going to put an arm around me. As he did so, he caught my arm, and having momentarily forgotten about it, I winced as his fingers grazed my exposed skin. Jim retracted his arm as quick as a flash, beginning to frown.  
‘What happened, Allie? Did someone in there hurt you?’ The concern in his voice was also laced with anger, and he turned his head to look into the store.  
‘No, no one touched me, it was my own fault,’ I managed to say, pleased that I had started to find my voice again. Despite still feeling shaken up by whatever _that_ had been, just being near Jim was having a calming effect on me — I realised I felt safer around him. Jim walked around to my left side, looking at my arm.  
‘Jesus,’ he murmured, grimacing. ‘What the hell happened?’  
‘No matter how I try to explain, I’m either gonna sound crazy or weird, or maybe both.’ I actually _do_ manage to laugh this time.  
‘Trust me, I won’t think you’re crazy or weird,’ he said. ‘You’ve got a hell of a gash on your arm. Let’s get you in the car, I’ll get it cleaned up, then you can tell me what happened, okay?’  
‘Sure,’ I nod, relieved to be putting a bit of distance between myself and the store. It was just a weird moment but it had really frightened me, and I was glad to get away from there for a while. I was probably blowing it out of proportion because I’d been spooked, but it was the first time I had felt scared, not just in the store, but since I had moved to Hawkins. I hoped it would be the last time, too. 

I walked over to the cruiser, Jim opening the door for me to climb in. ‘Can you take off your jacket without it hurting your arm?’ Jim asked, still looking concerned.  
‘I think so,’ I nod, and as I sat forward slightly, began to take it off. I got my right arm out just fine, but as it came to removing my left arm from the sleeve, I winced again, realising the cut was worse than I had initially thought it was.  
‘Well, the jacket is a write-off,’ Jim said, through a measured voice.  
‘Oh well, I was thinking about buying a new one for the winter, anyway,’ I shrugged, and Jim chuckled. I smiled, my insides warming at having heard him laugh for the first time today.  
‘In the glove box, Allie, you’ll find a small white plastic box. Can you get me it, please?’  
‘Sure,’ I said, and opened the glove box, passing the said white box over to him. He opened it, and inside I saw contents making up a small first aid kit.  
‘I didn’t have you down as an I-carry-a-first-aid-kit-in-the-car-with-me kind of guy,’ I admitted, and he momentarily looked up at me, smiling.  
‘Experience has taught me it's good to carry it around — you never know when it might come in handy.’  
Something must have flashed across my face, because Jim smiled again and quickly added: ‘Luckily, it’s not needed often or for anything major. It’s just better to be safe than sorry. You know, young women coming out of work with huge gashes on their arm, that kind of thing.’ I laughed at this, feeling more relaxed by the minute around him. ‘So, how did this happen?’  
I took a deep breath, thinking about how crazy I was about to sound telling him the story.  
‘So I was in the bathroom freshening up after my shift. I’d been putting things back in my bag, and I heard a strange noise — it sounded like it was coming from inside the pipes, or in the wall, or something,’ I began. Jim was listening intently. ‘It gradually got louder — I honestly thought that whatever it was that was making the sound was going to burst through. I started to feel a bit freaked out by that point, then the lights went out. It’s not the first time it’s happened in there, but on top of the weird noises, I got really freaked out, so as I rushed to the door to open it, I must’ve caught my arm on something.’  
It was quiet in the cruiser for a few seconds, and I was half expecting Jim to burst out laughing, telling me how ridiculous I was, and how I’d got scared over nothing. I noticed though he had a frown on his face again as he was looking at me, his eyes slightly narrowed.  
‘You say the lights went out? Was this across the whole store?’  
‘I don’t think so. Like I said, it isn’t the first time that the lights have acted up in there. They’ve been flickering on and off at random times for the last few weeks. It’s weird, because they’ve been checked by our maintenance guy a couple of times, and he’s never found any faults. The lights were on in the main part of the store, both before and after I went into the bathroom.’  
‘And there’s never been any problems with the lights in any other part of the store?’ Jim asked. I noticed he’d pulled a pocket-sized notebook out of a pocket and was scribbling something down.  
‘No, not that I’ve ever seen or been told about.’  
He nods, and I began to realise how people being questioned by him at the station must feel. ‘If anything like it happens again, call me or call the station, and ask for me. Okay?’  
‘Okay,’ I nod. I didn’t feel completely at-ease in that moment — Jim was taking this seriously, more seriously than I had thought, and a strange feeling washed over me. He wrote something else on a piece of paper, tore it off, and handed it to me. ‘My home number.’  
‘Thanks,’ I smile, pocketing the paper.  
‘Let’s get this cleaned up,’ he says, gathering a few items out of the first aid kit. I looked properly at my arm for the first time since it happened and gasp — it looked worse than I thought.  
‘Jesus,’ I murmur, not knowing whether I was more shocked or horrified. Jim began to gently wipe the blood away, cleaning the wound. I winced again, gritting my teeth whilst trying to fight against the involuntary reflex of pulling my arm away.  
‘Sorry,’ Jim murmured apologetically, and gently rested his other hand on my forearm. I felt his warmth on my skin, and suppressed a shiver. I studied his face as he was cleaning up the skin: his thick eyebrows were pulled together in a frown as he was concentrating, his deep blue eyes observing the cuts. The lines around his eyes crinkled as he squinted, and I couldn’t help but smile. Not for the fire time, I found myself thinking about how handsome he was.  
‘Do you know what it was that scratched your arm?’ he suddenly asked, and as I looked again at my skin, now cleaner thanks to Jim, I realised the cuts did look far more like a set of scratches. ‘No,’ I said, and felt myself frown.  
‘What’s wrong?’  
‘It’s just...strange,’ I said, and feel Jim looking at me.  
‘What is?’  
‘Well, this happened in the bathroom, like I said. I thought I’d caught it on something, but now I’m thinking about it, there isn’t really anything I could’ve caught it on. Whatever it is has ripped through my jacket _and_ my skin, so it must’ve been pretty sharp.’ Talking about my jacket had made me realise that I hadn’t examined it when I’d taken it off, so I picked it up from where it had been resting in my lap.  
‘What the hell?’ I remarked quietly. Jim looked, too, as I held up the sleeve, noticing the three jagged-looking rips torn through the material. No wonder my arm looked a mess when just the jacket looked the way that it did. Something twisted in my stomach, and I realised what the feeling was, because it was the same feeling I had had in the bathroom: fear.  
‘You’re sure there’s nothing on the walls that could’ve done this?’ Jim asks. There’s a change in his voice which I can’t quite place, and this only tightens the invisible knot in my stomach.  
‘No. I’m 99 percent sure, and anyway, even though it was dark in there, I didn’t go right along the wall to get back out.’ I’m suddenly reminded of the croaking, rattling sound just before whatever it was had scratched me, and I shuddered. Jim finished cleaning up my arm, then put the first aid box back. When he’d done that, he grabbed the microphone from the cruiser’s transceiver radio.  
‘Phil, do you copy?’ Jim’s voice had taken on a somewhat urgent tone, and I was starting to panic again. I swallowed anxiously, knotting my fingers together.  
‘Copy, Chief. What’s up?’  
‘I’m gonna need you to do me a favour,’ he began. ‘I need someone to swing by Bradley’s now, and check out the women’s bathroom.’  
There was silence over the airwaves, then I could just about make out the faint sound of chuckling at the other end. Jim exhaled slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. I probably would’ve laughed, if I wasn’t feeling so anxious.  
‘Somethin’ funny, Officer Callahan?’ he says, through gritted teeth. The knuckles of the hand holding the mouthpiece had gone white — he clearly wasn’t finding it amusing.  
‘Uh, no, Chief,’ Phil replies, clearly still trying to suppress laughter.  
‘Well, I suggest if you still want a job in the morning, you wipe the smile off your face and start listening to your boss more seriously. Do you understand me?’ The tone of his voice was enough to frighten anyone, I thought to myself.  
‘Jesus, yeah, Hop. Sorry. I’m listening. Go ahead.’  
‘Swing by Bradley’s, now. Check out the women’s restroom. Check for any damage to the pipes, walls, that kind of thing. Anything out of the ordinary, I want it looking into. I want it searched properly, don’t think I won’t find out if you don’t. Update me on what you find. Oh, and check if there’s anything on the walls that could be sharp enough to rip through clothing and skin.’  
There was silence for a few moments, then Phil’s response came, all traces of humour gone. ‘You got it, Chief.’  
‘Oh, and Phil?’  
‘Yeah, Jim?’  
‘Have Powell go along, too.’ Jim didn’t add ‘just in case,’ but he didn’t need to — I knew in the way he said it and the pause that followed afterward that that was the hidden meaning.  
‘We’ll head there now, Chief,’ Phil said.  
‘Thanks, Phil. Keep me in the loop.’  
‘You got it, boss.’  
With that, Jim placed the microphone back on the unit, turning to me, a small smile on his face.  
‘C’mon, let’s get you out of here.’  
‘Where are we going?’ I asked, as I pulled my seatbelt across me, securing it. The truth was, I didn’t really care — I knew then I would’ve gone anywhere with him, any time.  
‘I thought we could get something to eat. You hungry?’  
‘Starving, actually, now that I think about it.’ It’s true - I hadn’t eaten since my lunch break almost 6 hours ago, and was ready for food.  
‘Good. It’ll help with the shock, too, you need to boost your sugar levels or you may go into a bit of delayed shock.’ I simply nodded: I couldn’t disagree because I knew I had suffered a shock, and wasn’t about to argue the fact.  
‘Where are we going?’  
‘You’ll see,’ he said, smiling at me before starting to drive away.


End file.
